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William John Williams papers

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Held at: University of Delaware Library Special Collections [Contact Us]181 South College Avenue, Newark, DE 19717-5267

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

William John Williams, an analytical chemist who immigrated to the United States in 1885 from Abergele, North Wales in Great Britain, worked in a number of manufacturing fields, including fertilizers, soaps, bleaches, brickmaking, and sewage and water treatment. A tremendous amount of his work was with phosphates, reflected in this collection by the substantial amount of notes and correspondence about various chemical processes involving phosphates.

In 1876, he worked for the Phosphate Sewage Company of London. By 1883, he worked in the Redonda Phosphate department of Sadler, Forbes, Abbott & Co. In 1885, he left Great Britain to begin work at the Keystone Chemical Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By 1892, he began work for Walton & Whann, a fertilizer company in Wilmington, Delaware. Four years later, he joined the Weidman Silk Dyeing Company of Paterson, New Jersey. He corresponded with a variety of chemists and companies, and occasionally performed experiments and ran tests for them, such as those he conducted for the Atlanta and Gulf Coast Canal and Okeechobee Land Company of Florida.

Biographical information derived from the collection.

The William John Williams Papers, 1876-1923, consists of .7 linear feet of correspondence, copybooks, letterpress books, science notebooks, blueprints, patent documents, scientific documents, chemistry manuscripts, booklets, playscripts, advertisements, circulars, and notes. The bulk of the collection is dated between 1876-1896, with the exception of two letters, dated 1911 and 1923, which are found in Folder 1. The collection provides a glimpse of the family, personal, and professional life of a British chemist who immigrated to the United States in the late nineteenth century.

Three series comprise the collection: I. Correspondence, II. Professional Papers, and III. Personal Papers. Correspondence and professional papers in the collection indicate that Williams found and pursued numerous occupational opportunities within the dynamic fields of chemistry and manufacturing found in Philadelphia and the greater Delaware Valley in the second half of the nineteenth century.

The correspondence series consists of ten folders and 132 letters. Folders 1, 2, and 3 contain references to a disagreement between Williams' sisters and Henry Tanner in Great Britain over a disputed investment made by Tanner. Folders 4 and 5 relate to various property settlements for which Williams was responsible. Folder 6 includes information and advice related to Williams' search for employment. In Folder 7 is a large letterpress book containing copies of correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues from 1883 to 1885 in addition to the 132 letters mentioned above. The letterpress book also contains copies of reports, analyses, and balance sheets from Williams' professional work as a chemist. Folder 8 contains correspondence to Williams while he lived and worked in Great Britain. Mail that Williams received while he worked and lived in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, is found in Folder 9. Several envelopes in Folder 10 contain scientific notes and calculations made on their backs, as well as letters to Williams after he began work in Wilmington, Delaware.

Williams' professional papers comprise twelve folders. His papers have been divided into patents, scientific papers, balance sheets, analyses and reports, process descriptions, scientific notes, blueprints, and business papers. His papers included a number of British patents, including one of his own, and a number of scientific papers which were either published or presented at meetings. Balance sheets were cost and profit estimates for different chemical processes. Numerous reports of the results of different chemical processes, as well as descriptions of the process followed, are included. Assorted scientific notes, two blueprints for parts of a calcination machine, and various business receipts and advertisements round out the series. In addition to the material found in this series, the letterpress book found in folder 8 of the first series contains various reports, analyses, and balance sheets from Williams' professional work as a chemist from 1883 to 1885.

The final series of personal papers contains two folders. Two poems, a cantata, a description of a Japanese wedding, and excerpts from between five and eight plays (three of the items may be different acts from the same play) make up the last series. The several playscripts included in the collection suggest the possibility that Williams participated in various amateur theatrical productions.

Box 1: Shelved in SPEC MSS record center cartons

Removals: Shelved in SPEC MSS oversize boxes (32 inches)

Purchase, 1999

Processed by Ryan K. Thompson, August 2001. Encoded by Jaime Margalotti, February 2022.

Publisher
University of Delaware Library Special Collections
Finding Aid Author
University of Delaware Library, Special Collections
Finding Aid Date
2022 February 14
Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections Department, University of Delaware Library, https://library.udel.edu/static/purl.php?askspec

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Investment problems. Organized by author and unless otherwise noted, are to Williams.

Physical Description

17 items

Bessie Williams to Henry Tanner, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

1 item

Bessie Williams to Wm. Williams, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

4 items

Maggie Williams, 1882-1885.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

4 items

Annie Griffith, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

4 items

Mollie Williams, 1892.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

2 items

L. Koppe to Ms. Mayer, 1911.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

1 item

Alice, 1923.
Box 1 Folder F1
Physical Description

1 item

Physical Description

14 items

William Williams to Thomas Jameson, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

3 items

William Williams to T. Howes Roberts, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

2 items

William Williams to Shirley, Atkinson & Shirley, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

3 items

William Williams to Henry Tanner, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Bessie Williams, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Maggie Williams, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Richard Morris, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Pickford & Winkfield, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Annie Griffith, undated.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

William Williams to Unknown Correspondent, undated.
Box 1 Folder F2
Physical Description

1 item

Physical Description

15 items

Henry Tanner to Bessie Williams, 1876-1882.
Box 1 Folder F3
Physical Description

6 items

Henry Tanner to Wm. Williams, 1876-1882.
Box 1 Folder F3
Physical Description

9 items

Scope and Contents

Land settlement in Wales

Physical Description

17 items

W. E. Shirley, 1880-1884.
Box 1 Folder F4
Physical Description

16 items

Amy Sugdeu, 1884.
Box 1 Folder F4
Physical Description

1 item

Scope and Contents

Selling property and settling insurance policy

T. Howes Roberts, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F5
Physical Description

2 items

John Tatlock, Solicitor, Sheriff's Office, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F5
Physical Description

9 items

[Eold, Edwards & Weston?], 1885.
Box 1 Folder F5
Physical Description

1 item

Scope and Contents

Looking for work?

Physical Description

13 items

Richard Morris to Shirley, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F6
Physical Description

1 item

W. E. Shirley to John Bennett, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F6
Physical Description

1 item

W. E. Shirley, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F6
Physical Description

11 items

Letterpress book, 1883-1885.
Box 1 Folder F7
Scope and Contents

9 X 13 ½ inch 500 page notebook with green cover and brown bindings. Contains index with about 390 entries cataloging various letters to friends, families, and colleagues, as well as numerous reports, analyses, and balance sheets.

Scope and Contents

While Williams worked in Great Britain

Physical Description

15 items

Alum & Ammonia Co. Ltd., 1876.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

A. G. Hunter, 1876.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

2 items

Phosphate Sewage Co. Ltd., 1876.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

2 items

Thomas Jameson, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

2 items

Auguste Arnu to Forbes & Abbott, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

T. Howes Roberts, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

H. Thorne to S. J. Musson, 1883.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

Bernard Dyer, 1884.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

Crossley Brothers Limited, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

T. E. Vasey, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

1 item

Pickford & Winkfield, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F8
Physical Description

2 items

Scope and Contents

Williams had moved to Philadelphia, PA and then Camden, NJ

Physical Description

14 items

T. E. Vasey, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

3 items

Examiner of Patents, 1886.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

2 items

Pickford & Winkfield, 1886?, 1889.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

3 items

George Hughes, Analytical Laboratory, 1888?.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

Philip M. Justice, British Foreign & Colonial Patent Agent, 1888.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

Walter S. Pierce, International Phosphate Company, 1889.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

Thomas Newsome, Edward E. Rice & Co., 1890.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

Franklin Institute, 1891.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

W. E. Wadman, The Hygenic Chemical Co., 1891.
Box 1 Folder F9
Physical Description

1 item

Scope and Contents

Williams moved to Wilmington, DE

Physical Description

15 items

J. J. Dunne, The Atlantic and Gulf Coast Canal and Okeechobee Land Company of Florida, 1892-1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

4 items

W. J. Leddell, 1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

2 items

H. Pemberton, Jr., 1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

1 item

Queen & Co., 1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Scope and Contents

Contains scientific notes and calculations on reverse side

Physical Description

1 item

Walton & Whann Co., 1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Scope and Contents

Contains scientific notes and calculations on reverse side

Physical Description

1 item

World's Columbian Exposition, 1893.
Box 1 Folder F10
Scope and Contents

Contains scientific notes and calculations on reverse side

Physical Description

1 item

Walter S. Pierce, 1894.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

1 item

George Linder, Electro Chemical Co., 1895.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

2 items

W. E. Wadman, The Hygenic Chemical Co., 1895.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

1 item

Charles Ross & Sons, 1896.
Box 1 Folder F10
Physical Description

1 item

William John Williams, Manufacture of Phosphates, 1876.
Box 1 Folder F11
William Arthur Hills, Production of Tri-Calcic and Di-Calcic Phosphates, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F11
Physical Description

3 copies

Charles Humfrey, Decomposition of Certain Salts of Soda and Potash, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F11
Physical Description

3 copies

Physical Description

5 items

Article - A New Process for the Production of Carbonate and Caustic Soda…, George E. Davis, 1877.
Box 1 Folder F12
On the Judicious Use of Manures, paper read to Chester Farmers' Club, 1882 January 2.
Box 1 Folder F12
Scope and Contents

by Williams

Article - On the Estimation of Potash, Thomas S. Gladding, 1885.
Box 1 Folder F12
Article - Apparatus for the Absolute Determination of Nitrogen, Thomas S. Gladding, undated.
Box 1 Folder F12
Scope and Contents

with inscription

Fertilization of the Ground with the Help of the Products of Technical Industries, undated.
Box 1 Folder F12
Scientific Papers, undated, Field Experiments, John Hills, undated.
Box 1 Folder F13
Physical Description

7 items

Scientific Papers, undated, Field Experiments, John Hills, undated.
Box 1 Folder F14
Scope and Contents

preservation copy

Scope and Contents

Balance sheets contain an analysis of the costs and profits for producing certain products

Physical Description

11 items

Balance sheet for making soap, W. Williams, 1878.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for plant and working A. N., 1878.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for making tri-sodic phosphate, D.page, and sulphate aluminum, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for making sulphate of aluminum, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F15
Corrected estimate of making di-calcic phosphate and alumina, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for making dicalcic phosphate and alumina, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for working Redonda, W. Williams, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for working Redonda, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F15
Balance sheet for working Redonda, 1882.
Box 1 Folder F15
Cost of making di-calcic phosphate by carbonate of soda, W. Williams, 1883.
Box 1 Folder F15
Data for condensing plant, 1891.
Box 1 Folder F15
Physical Description

10 items

Balance sheet for making C.M.S., PPSO Phosphate and soda.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for experimental plant.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making mineral soap.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making Prsc. Phos. and NaHO.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet on "reverted" and "soluble".
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making soap.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making Soda Aluminate.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making Sulphate of alumina…, W. Williams.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making tri-sodic phosphate comparing salt cakes and salt processes.
Box 1 Folder F16
Balance sheet for making tri-sodic phosphate, tri-calcic phosphate, alumina, and cost of plant.
Box 1 Folder F16
Physical Description

15 items

Analysis of Redonda Sludge, W. Williams, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F17
Analyses of four samples of soil, W. Williams,, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F17
Analysis of Alk Vela Phosphate, 1883.
Box 1 Folder F17
Analysis of fertilizer, undated.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Final Specification of Utilization of Alkali Waste…, William A. Hills, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Final Specification of Utilization of Alkali Waste…, William A. Hills, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Alka Vela Phosphate, W. Williams, 1881.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report of Quantities of Soda salts decompose Redonda Phosphate, W. Williams,, 1884.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report of Experiments in Redonda Phosphate, W. Williams, 1884.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Tri-Sodium Phosphate as a water purifier…, Franklin Institute, 1891.
Box 1 Folder F17
Test results for T.S.page doses, 1892.
Box 1 Folder F17
Comments on the Determination of Phosphoric Acid…,, 1893.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Experiments on Redonda Phosphate, undated.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Mixture of Acid Phosphate with Keystone Reverted, undated.
Box 1 Folder F17
Report on Weston Iron Works, undated.
Box 1 Folder F17
Physical Description

9 items

Process description of Treatment and Manufacture of Phosphates W. Williams, 1880.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of Treatment and Manufacture of Phosphates, [1880].
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of "Hunts Liquor", 1884.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of Loss of Phosphate as Dust, 1887.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of Salt Cake Cylinder Process, 1891.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description for making salt cake, pan, and roaster, 1891.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of homemade celluloid, 1893.
Box 1 Folder F18
Description of Application of Sulphurous Acid Gas, undated.
Box 1 Folder F18
Process description of Boiler Compound, William D. Marks, undated.
Box 1 Folder F18
Physical Description

7 items

Calculations.
Box 1 Folder F19
Notes on Acid Phosphate.
Box 1 Folder F19
Notes on French-English weights and measures.
Box 1 Folder F19
Notes of Metric-English Conversions.
Box 1 Folder F19
Notes on Potassium Ferrate.
Box 1 Folder F19
Notes on Waste Plant.
Box 1 Folder F19
Printer's Triphosa.
Box 1 Folder F19
Scope and Contents

2 ½ X 5 ½ inch 48 page

Notebook.
Box 1 Folder F19
Scope and Contents

Contains 31 pages of chemical equations, formulas and notes.

Scientific Notebook.
Box 1 Folder F20
Scope and Contents

8 X 12 ½ inch tan and blue-green 90 page notebook. An index provides 21 entries for the various notes which fill about 60 pages.

Physical Description

2 items

Physical Location

Both blueprints have been removed to an oversize box

Blueprint for Platform of Roof over Calciner to Carry 50 Tons, C. Humfrey Jr., 1884.
Box 1 Folder F21
Scope and Contents

25 X 29 inches

Blueprint for Cupola for Calcining, C. Humfrey Jr., 1884.
Box 1 Folder F21
Scope and Contents

20 X 29 inches

Physical Description

6 items

Receipt for machinery shipped to J. J. Dunne, Philadelphia, 1886.
Box 1 Folder F22
Announcement of meeting for shareholders of Keystone Chemical Co., 1887.
Box 1 Folder F22
Prospectus announcing sale of stock in Walton & Whann Company, 1892.
Box 1 Folder F22
Physical Location

Preservation copy in folder, original copy in oversize box

Receipt for Insurance from Provident Mutual Accident Company, 1893.
Box 1 Folder F22
Advertisement for Improved Fertilizer Mixing Machine, C. H. Dempwolf & Co., undated.
Box 1 Folder F22
Circular for Keystone Concentrated Phosphate, Heller, Hirsh & Co., undated.
Box 1 Folder F22
Receipt for flower seeds, 1933.
Box 1 Folder F22
Physical Location

Removed from collection and placed in processing folder

Scope and Contents

Where possible, a play's title has been used, otherwise the first line has been included

Belle – I'm much too.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 1-19.

children, only.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 3-7.

Ceremony of Japanese Wedding.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

5 pages

The Dairymaids' Supper, cover and title page.
Box 1 Folder F23
The Famine, W. H. Longfellow.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 1-21

Fred – (sings).
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 1-8

Fred Somers – John Dix.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 1-5.

Posture Exercises.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

5 pages

Poem To Helen.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

1 page

Programme.
Box 1 Folder F23
Physical Description

pages 1-16.

A Spring Time—Rosin Back—.
Box 1 Folder F24
Scope and Contents

5 ½ X 8 ½ inch 40 page notebook with brown covers. Contains 17 pages of lines and stage directions.

Fairy Scenes from the Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare.
Box 1 Folder F24
Scope and Contents

3 ¼ X 8 inch 88 page notebook. Contains 58 pages of lines from the play.

Who is Who?.
Box 1 Folder F24
Scope and Contents

3 ¼ X 8 inch 22 page notebook. Contains 14 pages of lines from the play.

Print, Suggest